8 Children In Jamaica Die From Gastroenteritis

Other news to note - Caribbean & Latin America

February 4, 2000

KINGSTON, Jamaica - Eight children in Jamaica have died over the past two months from an outbreak of gastroenteritis, officials said Thursday. There has been a ``dramatic'' rise in the number of reported cases of the disease in December and January when compared with the year before, said Dr. Peter Figueroa, chief medical officer at the Ministry of Health. Symptoms include vomiting, diarrhea and fever. The cause is thought to be the airborne rotavirus.